A filler as a filling machine for filling a number of bottles with drink at a high speed is provided with a number of filling nozzles arranged at constant pitch along a circumference in a predetermined horizontal plane. The filler is accommodated entirely in an aseptic chamber so as to prevent foreign substance such as bacteria from entering the bottle, which has been subjected to sterilizing treatment and filled with sterilized drink.
When the bottle is filled with drink, the bottles synchronously travelling and reaching below the respectively corresponding filling nozzles of the filler are filled each with a constant amount of drink while all the filling nozzles of the filler being turned all together at high speed. As mentioned above, since the filler is accommodated in the aseptic chamber, such drink filling process is performed in an aseptic condition.
The drink is supplied to the filling nozzles of the filler from a drink preparation device by way of a drink supply pipe line, and the drink supply pipe line is subjected to a CIP (Cleaning in Place) treatment to remove remaining material and/or foreign substance periodically or each time when a kind of drink is changed, and moreover, is subjected to an SIP (Sterilizing in Place) treatment to create an aseptic condition (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3).
The CIP treatment is performed, for example, by flowing a cleaning liquid prepared with water to which alkaline chemical agent such as caustic soda is added in a flow path from an inside of a pipe line of a drink supply pipe line system to the filling nozzle of a filling machine. According to such treatment, remaining content or substance of previously filled drink adhering to the drink filling path can be removed (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).
The SIP treatment is performed, for example, by circulating steam or heated water through the drink filling path cleaned by the CIP treatment mentioned above. According to such treatment, the interior of the drink filling path can be sterilized by the heating of the steam or heated water to thereby sterilize the interior of the drink supply pipe line (for example, refer to paragraph [0003] of Patent Document 3).
At the time when the CIP treatment and the SIP treatment are performed with a liquid such as cleaning liquid, heated water or like, these treatments are performed in the following manner.
Since it is necessary to circulate the liquid inside the drink supply pipe line and/or to recover waste liquid, a cup is applied to a nozzle opening (mouth) portion of each filling nozzle in a static state. Such cups are arranged to be turned together with the filling nozzles. Around the turning axis in the turning motion of the filling nozzles, a manifold is preliminarily arranged so as to be turned together with the filling nozzles and the cups. The cups are connected to the manifold by means of lines, and such manifold is also coupled with a cleaning liquid storage tank and a pump coupled by means of lines in a detachable manner. The cleaning liquid storage tank and the pump are fixed to a machine frame of the filler or the aseptic chamber.
When the CIP treatment and the SIP treatment are performed to the interior of the drink supply pipe line, the turning operation or motion of the filling nozzle and the manifold are stopped, and then, by automatically applying the cup to the opening portion of the filling nozzle to thereby communicate the cup with the manifold, and hence, the manifold and the storage tank storing the cleaning liquid are connected with each other via pipe line. Then, the cleaning liquid in the storage tank flows into the drink supply pipe line and circulates therein for a predetermined time. According to such motion, the interiors of the drink supply pipe line and the filling nozzles are subjected to the CIP treatment. Further, when the SIP treatment is performed using a liquid such as heated water, similar to the case of the CIP treatment, the heated water or like flows inside the drink supply pipe line and inside the filling nozzle, so that the interiors of the drink supply pipe line and the filling nozzle can be sterilized.
Further, a COP (Cleaning out of Place) treatment and an SOP (Sterilizing out of Place) treatment are performed for the purpose of cleaning the inside of the aseptic chamber (for example, refer to Patent Documents 4, 5, 6).
Various kinds of spray nozzles are arranged to various portions within the aseptic chamber, and when the COP and SOP treatments are performed, alkaline cleaning agent, acetyl hydroperoxide cleaning agent, chemical liquid or solution of hydroperoxide hydrogen water, aseptic water or like is sprayed in form of mist or shower into the aseptic chamber from each of the filling nozzles. By the mist or shower of such chemical liquid or water, the inner wall surface of the aseptic chamber and the surfaces of equipments such as filler can be cleaned and hence sterilized.